Water-borne missile conveying apparatus



June 27, 1967 J MEADE WATER-BORNE MISSILE CONVEYING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 30, 1965 m E T D N E A W E 1 M P N H O J Y n B n m. 2 n" 9 u ATT ORN EY United States Patent 3,327,586 WATER-BORNE MISILE CONVEYING APPARATUS John P. Meade, Birmingham, Mich, assignor to {Zhrysler Corporation, Highland Park, Mich, a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 30, 1965, Ser. Non 511,023 1 Claim. (Cl. 39-151) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOEiURE An apparatus for conveying a large dimensional tubular missile on the ocean surface in a horizontal position and orienting the missile to vertical position for launching and which provides a housing for enclosing the missile. The housing is formed of spaced concentric tubular members which are arranged with adjacent compartments at one end for containing ballast liquid when the housing is oriented to vertical position and has another compartment and communicating duct for the ballast liquid when the housing is in horizontal position.

The present invention relates to a water-borne vehicle for housing a missile and permits the assembly of missile and vehicle to be transported expeditiously in a body of water and to be oriented readily for launching the missile.

It is necessary in transporting a missile to a launching area in the ocean that the missile structure and components be protected from the damaging effects of wave action and that they be protected from any deleterious elfects of the salt water. It is particularly important to be able to orient the missile to the desired positions for towing and for launching. The present invention concerns a vehicle which provides a protective housing for a missile and permits the assembly of missile and vehicle to be oriented in the desired position for transporting and in the desired position for launching.

The missile vehicle is tubular and is designed to receive large missiles of, for example, those upwardly of ten million pounds thrust and consequently has a large buoyant volume. The vehicle is constructed of inner and outer shells providing an annular space therebetween which receives a liquid ballast medium. The ballast medium is arranged to permit the assembly of vehicle and missile to acquire a generally horizontal position for transport and to permit the assembly to be oriented to the vertical position after transport. Propelling of the assembly for transport may be accomplished as desired by a pushing or pulling technique utilizing for this purpose a ship which will be provided with equipment for connecting the assembly thereto during transport and for disconnecting the assembly for launching the missile.

The principal ballast medium which is employed consists of a liquid which has a substantially greater density than water. A suitable high density liquid is acetylene tetrabromide which is located in spaced communicating compartments formed in the end portions of the vehicle. The volumes of the high density liquid contained in the compartments may be varied during transport in order to maintain the assembly generally horizontal and when the assembly is to be oriented to the vertical position, the ballast will be moved to one chamber which will be located at the lower end of the vehicle when the assembly has acquired the vertical position.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle for housing a missile and which contains a ballast medium so arranged within the vehicle to position the assembly of missile and vehicle in a horizontal position for towing purposes and in a vertical position for launching purposes.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a vehicle which is compartmented in a manner to readily maintain the assembly of vehicle and missile selectively in horizontal position or vertical position by the use of an acetylene tetrabromide ballast medium.

Other objects and attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereof and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a view in longitudinal section of the missile vehicle in horizontal position and showing essential details of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 but taken at thereto.

FIGURE 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic view of a missile vehicle in vertical position.

The drawings are for the purpose of depicting the broader aspects of the invention and in FIGURES 1 and 2, the missile vehicle is indicated at 10 and is formed of an outer shell 12 and an inner shell 14. As shown in FIGURE 3, the inner shell is generally cylindrical while the outer shell is of elliptical shape providing, as shown, narrow spacing at the top and bottom between the shells and wider spacing between the shells at the sides of the vehicle. The inner shell 14 is foreshortened at one end and the outer shell is provided with a closed end 16 spaced therefrom while at the other end of the vehicle, removable closure means 18 is provided for the inner shell 14 and afixed ring 19 is provided between the shells 12 and 14. A space 29 is formed by the inner shell which receives the missile and various supporting structures which will be provided therefor as is generally taught by Patent 3,135,162 but are not shown since such structures are not considered essential to this disclosure. A second closure means in the form of a transverse plate indicated at 24 is provided for space 22 and a transverse partition 26 forms with the closed end 16 of the outer shell a ballast compartment 28 for the high density liquid. A second compartment for the high density liquid indicated at 39 is formed by spaced transverse partitions 31-31 and is in communication with a longitudinal duct 32 formed in the space 22. The duct may be formed by longitudinal partitions as shown at 3333 or may be a conduit and may communicate with the high density ballast compartment through the plate 24 and partition 26. This communication may also be accomplished as shown, by a system in the form of a pump 34 and line 36 for regulating the transfer of the high density liquid between compartments 28 and 30. Additionally, the transfer system is operative to remove the high density ballast liquid from compartment 30 and duct 32 to locate it in the end space 28 for the purpose of orienting the assembly to the vertical position. Consequently, the ballast compartment 28 will have a volume sufiicient to receive all or substantially all the ballast liquid in the duct and compartment 30. In order to supplement the high density liquid when the assembly is oriented to the vertical position, a water compartment 40 is formed by the end plate 24 and partition 26 and is provided with a set of valves 42 spaced generally as shown in FIGURES l and 2. These valves are closed during transport of the assembly and the space 40 is empty but when the assembly is oriented for launching, the valves will be opened to admit sea water. Another system in the form of a pump indicated at 44 and line 46 is provided for removal of the sea water from compartment 30 after launching.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claim, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

I claim:

A Water-borne assembly for conveying a missile to a launching site which comprises:

(a) concentric inner and outer elongate tubular shells providing an inner cylindrical space for a missile and an outer annular space.

(b) said outer shell having a closed end portion extending beyond one end of the inner shell and inner and outer spaced transverse partitions in the closed end portion,

(c) said inner transverse partition providing a fixed closure for one end of said cylindrical space and one end of said annular space,

(d) a removable closure at the other end of the cylindrical space providing access to the cylindrical space and a fixed annular plate closing the other end of the annular space,

(e) said outer partition providing a first compartment with the inner partition and a second compartment with the end of the closed end portion,

(f) a pair of spaced transverse partitions in the arr nular space adjacent its other end providing with the inner and outer shells a third compartment,

(g) a pair of spaced longitudinal partitions within the annular space providing with the inner and outer shell a longitudinal duct in communication with said third compartment,

(h) said third compartment and longitudinal duct containing liquid ballast when the assembly is in its horizontal position,

(i) liquid ballast transfer means between the longitudinal duct and the second compartment for transferring liquid to the second compartment for orienting the assembly from its horizontal position to its vertical position and (j) valve means for admitting sea Water to the first compartment when the assembly is oriented to the vertical position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 688,398 12/1901 Dodge 114-125 3,135,162 6/1964 Kamalian 891.8l 3,158,062 11/1964 Feiler 891.81 3,295,411 1/1967 Lehmann 89-131 25 SAMUEL W. ENGLE, Primary Examiner. 

